Most helpful positive review

You spent a lot of money for your SLR or digital SLR camera, and then you plunked down another large chunk of cash for a quality lens. Do you really want to blow another heavy chunk of change for a basic, thread on UV filter? Well, I would normally advise that you don't skimp on quality when it comes to filters. After all, would you pay a premium price for a high performance automobile, only to fill it with watered down fuel? I should nope not! So is it such a bright idea to buy such a low cost UV filter for your high-end SLR lens? Well, maybe it is if you are considering the Tiffen 77mm UV Protection Filter.

This filter does NOT offer the highest level of UV filtration, but it is rather sufficient for most conditions, and the build quality and materials used in this filter are very good. For most digital SLR users, a UV filter is a must have for protecting your lens optics, and it helps to clear up the hazy and washed out look in many of your outdoor photos. This filter has proven to clean up many of my digital photographs, and I have found almost no internal reflection artifacts. Notice I said ALMOST no internal reflection. I leave my UV filters on all of my lenses almost all of the time, and this filter has produced some minor reflection when shooting indoor photos with my Sigma 10-20mm ultra-wide angle lens. This seems to only happen when shooting in dim lighting conditions, and when aiming the lens in the direction of a strong light source, such as a table lamp. Since my Canon EOS 40D has a "Live View" feature that lets me see what the picture is going to look like (displayed on the 3" LCD), I can see the reflection artifacts before I shoot the picture, and therefore have found ways to reframe my shots to avoid the reflections. However, I recommend that you simply remove the UV filter when shooting in these conditions.

As I said before, I typically do not recommend buying low cost filters for your high quality lenses, but I prefer to invest my money on creative filters and not pour too much into a filter that is primarily used to simply protect the front of the lens. Many manufacturers, including Tiffen, offer higher quality UV/Haze filters for SLR lenses, and you may wish to spend the extra money if you are looking for deeper UV removal from your pictures. However, if you are looking for great lens protection and a decent level of UV filtration for a modest investment, you honestly can't go wrong with this filter. Just remember to remove the filter, or frame your shots carefully when shooting in situations where direct light reflection may be an issue.

Most helpful critical review

The product felt strong, solid, and well put together. The glass was clear with no visible tint or imperfections. Although this and another filter (same type different size) both arrived with smudges on the glass. The smudges were fairly easy to wipe off, but I suspect the items are either not cleaned before packaging, or I received someone's returned item. However, I had to return this item since they DON'T contain any anti-glare/reflective coating on them. When shooting towards a light source (light bulb, tv, sun, etc) a green reflection of the light source would appear on the recorded image. The green reflected image was caused by a reflection bouncing off of my lens's green tinted anti-glare coating which was bounced right back into the camera by this filter. If your lens isn't coated in an anti-glare coating the result will be even worse.

Instead I picked up Quantaray filters from a local Wolf Camera that were coated with the anti-glare. They only cost a little more, and the green reflection is now gone. Make sure you look for a filter with the anti-glare

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The product felt strong, solid, and well put together. The glass was clear with no visible tint or imperfections. Although this and another filter (same type different size) both arrived with smudges on the glass. The smudges were fairly easy to wipe off, but I suspect the items are either not cleaned before packaging, or I received someone's returned item. However, I had to return this item since they DON'T contain any anti-glare/reflective coating on them. When shooting towards a light source (light bulb, tv, sun, etc) a green reflection of the light source would appear on the recorded image. The green reflected image was caused by a reflection bouncing off of my lens's green tinted anti-glare coating which was bounced right back into the camera by this filter. If your lens isn't coated in an anti-glare coating the result will be even worse.

Instead I picked up Quantaray filters from a local Wolf Camera that were coated with the anti-glare. They only cost a little more, and the green reflection is now gone. Make sure you look for a filter with the anti-glare

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I bought this filter for my Canon 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens. The price was right, and I thought it would be a good way to protect the lens, which this probably does well. And while I am shooting under normal lighting conditions (flash or natural) the filter stays out of the way, but as soon as the lights go down this filter will ruin more photos than I can bear, due to an abundance reflective artifacts. If you take a photo of Christmas lights for example you will see the lights again in a faint green glow on the opposite side of the photo... VERY ANNOYING.

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Any photographer who has the money to purchase a lens with a professional 77mm filter size can afford better than this uncoated Tiffen filter. I'm skeptical by nature, so I wanted to see for myself whether coated glass was really necessary. I purchased this Tiffen filter and used it on two different lenses and found that in almost every single photograph in which there was a light source, I found two smaller ghost images of the light source elsewhere in the photo. This uncoated glass really knows how to make lens flare POP (even if it's not the lens that's flaring...)! I sent mine back, with the biggest loss being my time and Christmas photographs of family that would have otherwise been very nice.

What made the two little ghosts appear on the Tiffen? Light as faint as Christmas tree lights, table lamps, incandescent overhead bulbs, etc. You name it, basically.

How do I know this was due to the UV filter and not my lenses? When I saw some pretty nasty flare, I just unscrewed the Tiffen filter and voila, my flare disappeared.

Le flare est morte. Vive le flare!

Seriously, spend just a bit more and get a good, coated (on both sides) filter; picky people like myself will gladly spend a little more and get a coated filter by Hoya or B+W, among others. The Tiffen is fine if you only shoot in the shade without any relatively bright lights; otherwise, my advice is to look elsewhere.

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I got this filter before I understood the difference between cheap filters and ones that actually work well. I was getting such great results with my new 50mm f/1.8 lens during the day, but at night i was getting a lot of ghosting and flaring in my pictures. It took me a while to realize it was because of the filter. After doing some online research, I decided to remove the filter, and my pictures were all suddenly better with that lens. The glass was affecting my picture quality!

The glass used is cheap, and not very good quality, so it can actually degrade your pictures. It works well to protect the glass on the lens from scratches or dust, but it's a much better idea to pay $20 more and get a good filter that will actually help you get better pictures. If you don't want to pay the extra for a decent filter, you might be better off just leaving the filter off. I reccomend Hoya Pro1 and B&W filters; and in the 52mm size, the price is very reasonable. Once you start buying nicer lenses that require 77mm filters, that's where the good filters really start adding up. But again, you aren't going to want to put a cheap filter on a $1000 lens.

I know this review might sound negative, but if it helps someone capture a memory better because they decided to get a little nicer filter, it will be worth it.

You spent a lot of money for your SLR or digital SLR camera, and then you plunked down another large chunk of cash for a quality lens. Do you really want to blow another heavy chunk of change for a basic, thread on UV filter? Well, I would normally advise that you don't skimp on quality when it comes to filters. After all, would you pay a premium price for a high performance automobile, only to fill it with watered down fuel? I should nope not! So is it such a bright idea to buy such a low cost UV filter for your high-end SLR lens? Well, maybe it is if you are considering the Tiffen 77mm UV Protection Filter.

This filter does NOT offer the highest level of UV filtration, but it is rather sufficient for most conditions, and the build quality and materials used in this filter are very good. For most digital SLR users, a UV filter is a must have for protecting your lens optics, and it helps to clear up the hazy and washed out look in many of your outdoor photos. This filter has proven to clean up many of my digital photographs, and I have found almost no internal reflection artifacts. Notice I said ALMOST no internal reflection. I leave my UV filters on all of my lenses almost all of the time, and this filter has produced some minor reflection when shooting indoor photos with my Sigma 10-20mm ultra-wide angle lens. This seems to only happen when shooting in dim lighting conditions, and when aiming the lens in the direction of a strong light source, such as a table lamp. Since my Canon EOS 40D has a "Live View" feature that lets me see what the picture is going to look like (displayed on the 3" LCD), I can see the reflection artifacts before I shoot the picture, and therefore have found ways to reframe my shots to avoid the reflections. However, I recommend that you simply remove the UV filter when shooting in these conditions.

As I said before, I typically do not recommend buying low cost filters for your high quality lenses, but I prefer to invest my money on creative filters and not pour too much into a filter that is primarily used to simply protect the front of the lens. Many manufacturers, including Tiffen, offer higher quality UV/Haze filters for SLR lenses, and you may wish to spend the extra money if you are looking for deeper UV removal from your pictures. However, if you are looking for great lens protection and a decent level of UV filtration for a modest investment, you honestly can't go wrong with this filter. Just remember to remove the filter, or frame your shots carefully when shooting in situations where direct light reflection may be an issue.

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I use a UV filter on my lens to protect it because unlike others it has the least effect on the amount of light passing through it and does not affect color. I use it indoors and out with both black and white and color films. The only time it is off of my lense is when I want to affect color or contrast by using a special filter. It reduces haze to improve the clarity of outdoor pictures. Tiffen filters are well constructed.

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I purchased this filter for my 2006 Christmas vacation in Hawaii. I knew that I was going to take a lot of outdoor photographs and wanted to try using a UV filter to make them more crisp. I have a Canon S3 IS which is not a traditional SLR so in order to use this filter I purchased the Canon LAH-DC20 Lens Adapter and Hood Set. Not only is this a great filter for cutting out haze in my photos, it's an affordable protective layer between the built in lens and the real world. I have many cameras with sand and fingerprints all over the lenses. It's impossible to keep them clean. Anything that gets onto this filter cannot harm the built in lens and is easily cleaned by simply removing the filter and wiping with a lens cloth. I have noticed a great improvement in my outdoor photography in clarity.

One caveat:

I was fortunate enough to get some expert advice concerning how tight to screw on filters and lenses. JUST BARELY FINGER TIGHT! Those little buggers have a nasty tendency to go from "kind of loose" to "how do you get this d@mn thing off" very quickly!

This UV filter does it job to protect the lens well. The build is solid (metal construction). The glass is also descent quality.

About the performance, it absorbs some UV light. The UV light absorbtion is hardly noticeable, probably the sky 1-A and the haze filter version will absorb more UV light than this lens which is fine for me.

Now, about the one problem which is the internal reflection. I've heard many people say that it mostly happens during night or low light shooting. I found out that it is not caused directly by the low light/night situation. The internal reflection will appear when there is a strong/bright source of light in comparison to the overall exposure (the surrounding environment). To put it in example (which hopefully is easier to understand), when you take a picture of a lamp during nightime and the light is much brighter than the surrounding area then you will see the internal reflection. as you move the position of the light to be closer to the sides/corner of the picture (and not in the center of the picture), the internal reflection reduces and finally dissapear (if you move the light far enough from the center). And if the light isn't too bright/contrast compare to the surrounding environment then there will be no internal reflection. but of course most of the time, a lamp at nightime is often very bright. But the point that I'm trying to make is that the internal reflection doesn't happen all the time during low light or night time.

Additionally, the internal reflection isn't only happening at night. it can also happen in the afternoon if you are taking a picture of a sun for example. basically same rule as above, on how bright is the light source compared to the surrounding area, and as you move the sun from the center of the photo and near the side the internal reflection will move to the side/dissapear (also depending the angle). But the best way is just to remove the filter during these situations.

Hope this explanation helps you to reduce the occurence of internal reflection by identifying correctly when the internal reflection will occur and then remove the filter during those situation (which is not hard to do).

I'm actually not a fan of lens filter (any filter) as I think it will only degrade picture quality as we added another layer between the sensor and object, but I decided to use them anyway for all my lens. And I would recommend everyone to get one of this filter if you don't have any filter for your lens yet.